Is your vagina feeling sluggish? Maybe it needs a day at the gyno spa. A new trend in vaginal hygiene has arrived in America. It involves the words "pungent steam," "mugwort tea," and "open-seated stool." Meet the vaginal steam bath.

Vaginal steam baths originate in Korea. Americans are now co-opting them for our increasingly multinational (Brazilian, French) vulvas. This Los Angeles Times article about vaginal steaming contains many words you may not expect to see in the context of vaginas:

Pungent steam rises from a boiling pot of a mugwort tea blended with wormwood and a variety of other herbs. Above it sits a nude woman on an open-seated stool, partaking in a centuries-old Korean remedy that is gaining a toehold in the West.

Vaginal steam baths, called chai-yok, are said to reduce stress, fight infections, clear hemorrhoids, regulate menstrual cycles and aid infertility, among many other health benefits. In Korea, many women steam regularly after their monthly periods.

"It's a simple, relaxing treatment," says Neil, who hopes it will help her become pregnant. "You can imagine people doing this in the forest somewhere."

Weird words aside, is the vagina spa something we should embrace? On one had, they could be a welcome sensory counterbalance to the vulva-terrorizing trend that is the Brazilian wax. If hands, feet, and faces get spas, why not vaginas? On the other hand, America's vaginas are high-maintenance enough, already. A 30-minute gyno spa costs $75 (!) in New York, and you can buy a D.I.Y. vaginal spa kit for $330 (!!) should you be brave enough to blast your genitals with scalding steam without professional assistance. [LATimes via Sweet Christmas Fluff, image via krme/Shutterstock]